After hours of tense debate that revealed significant differences between the country’s president and the premier, Croatian lawmakers narrowly rejected a proposal that the nation should join an EU mission to support the Ukrainian military on Friday.
The proposal which was opposed by President Zoran Milanovic, the supreme commander of the Croatian armed forces, would have allowed up to 100 Ukrainian troops to be trained in Croatia over the next two years. A majority of two thirds was required to approve the proposal.
97 members of the 151-seat parliament cast ballots in favour of it. Ten people abstained.
Parliamentary votes on issues typically approved by the president in agreement with the administration are not provided for under the constitution, according to opposition deputies who claimed they did not want to become hostages to the political disagreements of the top leaders.
The European Union decided to establish the Military Assistance Mission in Support of Ukraine (EUMAM Ukraine) in October in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that started in February. A Polish general was appointed to oversee training that will take place primarily in Poland.
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